Pulverizer.



F. D. MALTMAN.

PULVEEIZER'.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 13. 1909.

Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

INVENTOR A TTO RNEY FRANCIS D. MAL'IMAN, OF GEYSERVILLE, CALIFORNIA;

PULVERIZER;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. s, 1910.

Application filed November 13, 1909. Serial No. 527,826.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Flinn 01s D. MALTMAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Geyserville, in the county of Sonoma and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pulverizers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in pulverizers.

Pulverizers which are provided with teeth dragging along the ground aregenerally objectionable in this respect that, if their teeth are set toofar apart, they permit clods to pass between the several rows of teethin succession, so that they are not properly broken up, and if the teethare set closer together, so that a clod cannot pass between them, theclods accumulate between the teeth and clog up the pulverizer. Again, apulverizer formed of corrugated rollers will pulverize only the soil onthe top, and, in case the clod is not broken up, it is, by such rollers,forced down into the ground as a hard mass. Moreover such pulverizerscan only be used when the ground is perfectly dry.

One object of the present invention is to avoid the above objections.

A further object is to provide an improved pulverizer which willpulverize the soil to a sufficient depth below the surface, say from 3to 6 inches.

A still further object is to provide one which will be cheap and simplein construction, of great durability in use, and which cannot get out oforder.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of myimproved pulverizer; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.

Referring to the drawing, the main portion of my improved pulverizerconsists of a single casting comprising a flat plate or table 1,preferably rectangular in form, and at the front end having an upwardlysloping extension 2, which may be of the same thickness as the plate, towhich extension are secured the means for drawing the pulverizer alongthe ground, which may be either a tongue or tongues, or, as hereinshown, chains 3 attached to a Whittle-tree l. The upward slope of thisextension enables the pulverizer to ride over very rough ground.Depending from said plate 2 are breaker pieces 5, which are arranged inrows, there being here shown only two rows, al-

though the rows may be of any desired number. Each breaker piece is atthe front end wide and thin or shallow, and at the rear end narrow anddeep, that is, at the front end the breaker piece is formed with ahorizontal sharp edge, so that its lower surface is at the front endpractically continuous with the lower surface of the plate 2, whereas atthe rear end it is formed with a vertical sharp edge 6 depending atright angles from said plate. The under surface of each breaker piece,therefore, tapers from front to rear. It is also made concave, for thereason that, if made perfectly flat, the clods would too easily slipfrom under the breaker pieces without being crushed there by; however,it is desirable not to make the under sides of these breaker pieces toocurved as otherwise they would have the same disadvantages as the hooksat present used, and be clogged up by the clods. As a breaker piecerides upon the top of a clod, the weight of the pulverizer is applied tosaid clod on a pressure surface narrowing as the clod approaches therear end of the breaker piece, until finally, when the point at thebottom of the vertical edge 6 of the breaker piece passes on to saidclod, the pressure, due to the weight of the pulverizer, beingconcentrated at that point is sutficient to penetrate and break up theclod.

It will be observed that the breaker pieces of the two rows arestaggered with reference to each other so that the front edge of eachrear breaker piece is exactly behind the opening between two of thefront breaker pieces; consequently the pulverizer cannot pass over anyclod without its passing under and being broken by one or the other ofthe breaker pieces.

As shown at 9, the lateral edges of the forward and upward extension 2incline inward to the front. This is an advantage in that, if thepulverizer be drawn close past a tree, stump, or other obstruction, saidsloping edge, impinging against the obstruction defleets the pulverizer,and thereby enables it to pass the obstruction.

A further important result achieved by my improved pulverizer is thatthe sharp rear ends of the breaker pieces penetrate the ground to adepth of several inches, and thus the soil is pulverized not only on thesurface but below the surface, to a suflicient extent, in general, foragricultural purposes.

Extending transversely across the top of the casting, and bolted theretoas shown at '7, are a number of planks 8. These planks withstand anyjar, or shock which would tend to break the casting. Moreover, even ifthe casting be broken, the e'tliciency of the pulverizer is p 'acticallyunimpaired, as its parts still remain attached to the planks, and thebolts for so attaching them are in general found suthcient to retain theseveral parts in place, although, it necessary, it is easy to boreadditional bolt holes and thus additionally secure the pieces to theplanks.

It will be readily seen that this pulverizer can be used etiiciently ondamp soil as well as in dry.

An im )ortant advantage )ossessed bv this i to its rear end,substantially as described.

invention is its great simplicity and cheapness in construction, therebeing only one main part, which can easily be formed in a singlecasting, no machine work being necessary, and the planks beingattachable thereto very quickly and readily and without requiring theuse of skilled labor. It can thus be placed upon the market ata muchlower price than the present forms of pulverizer.

A further advantage of this pulverizer as compared with many others isthat it is not necessary to go to the expense of placing a springseatthereon, as the driver can readily stand upon the platform formed bythe amuse planks. However, a spring seat can be added if desired.

It is evident that the plate of the pulverizer may be made of sheetsteel, the breaker pieces being riveted or otherwise attached thereto.

I claim 1. A pulverizer comprising a plate, and a series of breakerpieces depending from said plate, each breaker piece being of greaterdepth but of less thickness at the rear than at the front end,substantially as described.

'2. A pulverizer comprising a plate, and a series of breaker piecesdepending from said plate, each breaker piece diminishing in thicknessand increasing in depth gradually 3. A pulverizer comprising a plate,and a series oi breaker pieces depending from said plate, each breakerpiece diminishing in thickness and increasing in depth gradually to itsrear end and the under surface of each breaker piece being concaved,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

FRANCIS D. MALTHAN.

\Vitnesses FRANCIS M. dVRIGI-IT, D. B. Rrormnns.

